Ex-football player, needing to get sports related stuff off my chest. And anything else I want to talk about. I guess the name is misleading. Sue me.

Feb 1, 2008

Lies, Damned Lies, And Super Bowl Lies...

Before I unveil my Super Bowl pick (which, based on this past season of picks, could be worthless), I want to address and debase some of the more popular falsehoods that have been put forth over the last 2 weeks of Super Bowl preparation.

38-35

Ignore these numbers. The score in the week 17 match up between these two teams is much closer than the game ever was. Belichick calls the second half of games exceedingly different than he does the first half; he turned up the heat on Eli Manning, and took the win from the upstart Giants. And Brady demonstrated what he can do against that defense with their last 4 possessions of the game, which went as follows: TD, TD, TD, Kneel. The only reason the last Giants touchdown seemed so important is because in the second quarter the Pats allowed their only kickoff return for a touchdown all year, which was also the Giants only kickoff return for a touchdown all year. And all this nonsense happened in cold weather, while the Super Bowl is being played in Arizona.

Brady is too hurt to play well

Aside from the fact that he has been untaped and unbraced the last two days of practice, we've seen players play in big games with much more major injuries. A few years ago, we all saw the impact that Terrell Owens had coming off of a broken leg, and a few weeks ago, we saw Phil Rivers play on a torn ligament in his knee. Let's just say, that Brady will be playing, and he will be fine.

Randy Moss has disappeared in the playoffs

He has far from vanished, though he has been hard to see through the double and triple coverages. His impact has been seen and felt in the box scores of the games, just not under his name. Check the numbers corresponding with men by the names of...let's see...Welker, Stallworth, Gaffney, and Watson. Oh, and please also look at Faulk and Maroney, under receiving yards. Go ahead. I'll wait.

Eli Manning has turned into an elite quarterback

Ok, everyone has different parameters over what defines greatness is, and maybe my bar is too high. He has looked good at specific times this postseason, but I'm not ready to give the kid the crown just yet. Anyone who brings more than 5 can get to him, yet no one has done it since the 3rd quarter of the Week 17 game. He has averaged less than 200 ypg this postseason, and won't be getting that against this defense. Hey, speaking of...

The Giants exposed the Patriot defense Week 17

While hanging 35 was admirable, in the loss, don't look for the Giants to repeat the feat. They were picking on a beat up, tired, OLD team playing in the cold. As I already mentioned, this temperature plays right into New England's hands; both the offense and defense looked better early this year, not only because of the fatigue factor, but because they operate better in warm weather. Which we will see Sunday.

23-17

Oh, Plax. Why would you bring it on yourself? It's good to be confident in your team, but the Pats are 18-0 for a reason. People, as opposed to thinking up ways for them to lose, let's think about how many ways (and times) they've won this year. Especially in games where someone has poked the sleeping giant (see ex-Steeler no name), this team has used that motivation to not only win, but to embarrass. Good run Giants, but your tour ends here.